Heroes of the Storm – Jim Raynor – Talents

Backstory

Ex-Confederate Marshall James Raynor has stood against whatever the universe can throw at him and survived. He stands as a bright beacon of hope among enigmatic aliens and monsters, still fighting for justice in a cold uncaring universe.

Description

A resilient hero that knocks back enemies and buffs allies. Able to regenerate health quickly when in trouble.

Store Cost: 2,000 | $3.99

Role: Ranged Assassin

Difficulty: Easy

Origin

Jim Raynor was a Confederate marshal on Mar Sara at the time of the first zerg incursions on that world. Despite bravely fighting the alien aggressors and saving many lives, he was arrested by Confederate forces on the pretext of destroying Confederate property at Backwater Station. When he was subsequently liberated by Arcturus Mengsk’s Sons of Korhal, an anti-Confederate revolutionary group, Raynor chose to fight alongside them.

Mengsk’s hunger for power and his growing lack of scruples soon began to trouble Raynor. Eventually Mengsk’s betrayal of his own lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan and his ruthless manipulation of the zerg to attack Confederacy-held worlds showed Raynor that Mengsk was no better than the oppressors he sought to overthrow. Raynor led a revolt within the ranks of the Sons of Korhal and seized Mengsk’s personal flagship, the Hyperion, and a small fleet of ships. While attempting to rescue Kerrigan from the zerg planet Char, Raynor encountered protoss there and gained the respect of the valiant Executor Tassadar. Raynor’s frank honesty enabled him to forge a bond between Tassadar and the dark templar Zeratul.

“It may not be tomorrow, darlin’. It may not even happen with an army at my back. But rest assured: I’m the man who’s going to kill you some day. I’ll be seein’ you.”

Raynor and his troops went on to fight alongside the protoss in several campaigns and played a key role in battling the United Earth Directorate incursion that followed. A twist of fate found Raynor temporarily allied with Arcturus Mengsk and the Queen of Blades, the being reforged from Sarah Kerrigan by the zerg Overmind. Although these two tyrants fought against a common foe, it was only a matter of time until their tenuous alliance collapsed. In the end Kerrigan was the one who turned against her erstwhile allies and struck the first blow, and many of Jim Raynor’s comrades died to her treachery.

Raynor escaped the massacre and vowed vengeance. Even so, against the full strength of the zerg Swarm and the vast psionic powers of the Queen of Blades, his chances seemed slender at best. Eventually, exhausted and disillusioned, Raynor returned to terran space to lead a resistance movement against the spreading power of Arcturus Mengsk’s Terran Dominion. Over the years this fight hasn’t gone well. Arcturus Mengsk has used his greatest weapons – oratory, the media, and propaganda – to marginalize Raynor’s efforts.

Raynor’s Raiders remain public enemy number one to the powerful Terran Dominion. Mengsk sees Raynor’s continuing existence as a challenge to his authority. However, Mengsk is also wary of creating a martyr by having Raynor assassinated, and so he has taken steps to keep Raynor and his followers constantly hunted and harried, denying them any chance to gain a respite and build their strength.

Years of skirmishing with the inexhaustible resources of the Dominion has whittled down Raynor’s forces to a shadow of their former selves. Raynor has had to resort to occasional mercenary work just to garner enough funds to repair and rearm in the short term. Keeping his outfit running means that additional mercenary jobs will likely be needed in the future. Freedom isn’t free.

Today Raynor seems to be losing faith: he drinks heavily and blames himself for Kerrigan’s fate. His hatred for Arcturus Mengsk has become a festering wound. Raynor’s first officer, Matt Horner, still believes in him and in the revolution even though some of Raynor’s doubts are spreading to his crew. Horner has done a lot to keep things going over the years, always having faith that Raynor’s innate heroism will resurface and lead the rebels to victory.

Raynor is a good leader and an excellent tactician, although he lacks any formal training or background. He has learned his skills through experience, and so he is unfettered by preconceived notions of what “the book” says is the right or wrong approach. Raynor will seldom plan things out in very much depth, but he has an excellent ability to improvise and turn the tables in a situation by using whatever he has at hand.

Raynor is also a man with a past. He is a known associate of notorious convict Tychus Findlay; the pair of them served together in the 321st Colonial Rangers Battalion “Heaven’s Devils” toward the end of the Confederacy/Kel-Morian Guild Wars. Raynor and Findlay first met in Fort Howe on Turaxis II after Findlay had finished a three-month stint in a military correctional facility for assaulting a ranking officer.

“Guess you wouldn’t be a Confederate if you weren’t a complete pain in the ass.”

In the last phase of the Guild Wars, Raynor and Findlay were accused of committing manslaughter during an ill-fated mission on Turaxis II. For their part, Raynor and Findlay knew that their superiors were to blame for the operation’s disastrous failure and resulting deaths. The two men fled from the military soon after, well aware that they would never receive a fair trial if it meant tarnishing the reputation of Confederate commanding officers. The pair remained outlaws together for years until Tychus was captured by Confederate law enforcement and sentenced to life in cryogenic incarceration. Exactly how Raynor managed to avoid Findlay’s fate and land a job as a marshal on Mar Sara is unknown.

StarCraft History

Jim Raynor is the main hero character of the StarCraft (1998) video game series. He was a marshall in planet Mar Sara working for the Confederacy of Men in the Koprulu Sector.

Betrayed by his own people, Jim Raynor was rescued by Korhal rebel leader Arcturus Mengsk. Jim fell in love with Mengsk’s right hand and ghost assassin Sarah Kerrigan.

After toppling the Confederacy, and protecting the innocent from zerg attacks, Mengsk betrayed him by leaving Sarah Kerrigan behind during a mission gone wrong.

Sarah Kerrigan was captured by the zerg and turned by the Overmind’s genegineer Abathur into the Queen of Blades.

Jim Raynor was pivotal in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty to do the right thing. He listened to Zeratul’s warning and with the help of Prince Valerian Mengsk cured Kerrigan to a degree.

This cure was short-lived after Mengsk’s forces led by Nova captured Jim Raynor. News reached Kerrigan that Raynor had been executed. With the help of Zeratul, Kerrigan embraced a path that would ensure her revenge against Emperor Mengsk.

Kerrigan was transformed back into the Queen of Blades by entering the primordial pool where the original zerg first evolved. Free of the taint of Amon and that of the Xel’Naga, the new Queen of Blades freed Jim Raynor from a mobile prison.

Jim Raynor was pissed at Kerrigan for giving up on her humanity, becoming the Queen of Blades once more. Giving up on their love. However, he was moved by her new attitude and respect for life when she agreed to spare the lives of Valerian’s men and protect them where possible as she advanced toward Emperor Mengsk’s headquarter. Together, they defeated New Korhal’s defenses and killed Emperor Mengsk.

Jim Raynor saw Kerrigan ascend into the sky to meet her destiny as prophesied by Zeratul. In the end, Raynor knows she is the only chance for the entire universe to survive the coming oblivion that Amon and his hybrid will bring.

In Heroes of the Storm, Jim Raynor is a playable character. With his impaling rifle and his Summon Hyperion ability he is an asset to any team.

Talents

Voice Over Quotes

These are the voice over quotes repeated by Jim Raynor when the player clicks on him multiple times. Transcript courtesy of Egrem. (Thank you)

”This is Jimmy.”

“Alright, sell me.”

“Don’t mess with Mar Sara.”

“Yippee-ki-yay.”

“I never look for trouble, but it always seems to find me. Usually in a bar.”

“It’s funny, I ain’t been a marshal for years, but I always feels like there’s a magistrate lookin’ over my shoulder.”

“Wh-he-hell, ooh, what is it about girls with dreads?”

“I find that whenever I’ve got a split decision in my life, the first option is usually the canonically correct one.”

“Well, I’m bored. Who needs something kicked into overdrive?”

“When the goin’ gets tough, well the tough… call on the good old Hyperion and blast the hell out of everything!”

“‘scuse me, gettin’ a little dry over here.”

“So, you ever hear what happens when you play StarCraft backwards? I get my Vulture back, I get my girl back, my planet isn’t glassed by the Protoss and things are peachy keen.”

“Startin’ to miss my jukebox.”

“(singing) Shotgun… Zerg… you, I got a Zerg and a shotgun, and I’m bringing ‘em home to you.”

“(music) Hey, is that Liberty Rock? Yeah! Well, turn it up man!”

Heroic Traits

Keybind

Icon

Heroic Trait

Description

Cooldown

Mana

R

Summon Hyperion

The Hyperion slowly travels forward, dealing 324 damage per second to a random enemy target in its path.

120 sec

100

Lead from the Front

Enemies killed within a short time of being damaged by Raynor reduce the cooldown of his abilities by 1 second. Enemy Heroes killed reduce the cooldown by 10 seconds.

Hero Quests

Basic Hero Quests

Basic Hero Quests are unique to each Hero. Usually they are focused on using a spell/ability “X” amount of times against any enemy Hero; and the last one asks you to play 10 games with your Hero.

Epic Hero Quests

The Epic Hero Quests are not available until you reach level 10, and until your Hero has completed the 3 Basic Hero Quests. These are not unique for each hero. All Heroes must complete the same Epic Hero Quests.

Tomas Hernandez is owner of Blizzplanet.com since 2003 posting news about World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, the Next-Gen MMO, Blizzard Careers, and the Warcraft movie.

Blizzplanet is a leading fansite covering news about upcoming Blizzard Entertainment licensed products. I also post previews and reviews of Blizzard licensed products. I have interviewed book writers and Blizzard game developers.

I was previously an employee of the OGaming Network (2003), and IncGamers (2008-2010). I was a guest newsposter for GosuGamers (World of Warcraft) a few years ago and for Diablofans.com (formerly Diablo3.com)